LIDAR Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Constituents
Hosted By: Laser Systems Technical Group
17 March 2021 16:00 - 17:00
Eastern Time (US & Canada) (UTC - 05:00)Ted Maiman noted that a laser is a solution seeking a problem. Over 60 years after its invention the laser still serves as a practical solution to many important engineering and scientific problems. One important scientific challenge of this generation is to better understand how the Earth's atmosphere is responding to a changing climate.
Laser remote sensing serves as an important observational tool to profile key atmospheric constituents such as greenhouse gases, aerosols and clouds, all of which play a unique and important role across a range of scales from weather and dynamical processes to maintaining the delicate balance of the Earth's radiation budget. Different laser remote sensing techniques such as the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) or High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) can be used to accurately profile trace gases such as H2O and CH4 and aerosol/clouds, respectively. Although these powerful measurement approaches provide unmatched accuracy and spatial resolution, they impose challenging technical requirements on the LIDAR laser and receiver subsystems.
In this webinar hosted by the OSA Laser Systems Technical Group, Amin Nehrir from NASA Langley Research Center will discuss the scientific motivations behind the DIAL and HSRL techniques as they relate to different Earth science disciplines, discuss the DIAL and HSRL measurement techniques and flow down of requirements to the LIDAR subsystems, and how those requirements drive technology development from lasers to receiver optics and detectors.
Subject Matter Level:
- Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of the topic
What You Will Learn:
- The fundamentals behind water vapor and aerosol LIDARs
- Examples of using DIAL and HSRL LIDARs to study our atmosphere
Who Should Attend:
- Those interested in understanding how to use pulsed lasers to probe and study the atmosphere
- Those interested in applications of novel LIDAR technologies to environmental sensing
About the Presenter: Amin Nehrir, NASA Langley Research Center
Dr. Amin Nehrir is an Instrument Scientist for Active Remote Sensing in the Science Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center and has over 16 years’ experience in ground-based, airborne, and space-borne lidar with focus on advancing laser source development and optical instrumentation for remote sensing applications. Amin serves as the Active Remote Sensing co-product line lead at NASA Langley where he is currently engaged in the development of the next generation of space-based aerosol/cloud and water vapor profiling lidar. Amin is the PI of the HALO H2O and CH4 DIAL/HSRL lidar which has supported a broad range of airborne science investigations across different NASA science focus areas ranging from atmospheric dynamics to carbon cycle science. Amin is also the PI of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Lidar Pathfinder (ABLE) project that is advancing on DIAL transmitter and receiver technologies to enable the world’s first water vapor profiling lidar from space.